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<\/a><\/p>\nElgersma didn\u2019t start playing football in high school until Grade 10 while attending Oakridge Secondary School. That\u2019s not typical for players who reach the heights Elgersma has in his career so far, as most future pros start before high school \u2013 especially those who play the quarterback position.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Interestingly, Elgersma\u2019s former coach at Laurier, Michael Faulds, has said that\u2019s part of what makes the pivot\u2019s drive so special \u2013 because he feels as though he\u2019s always catching up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elgersma certainly caught up by the time he hit the ground running at Laurier in 2022, following a season as the team\u2019s backup. In his first year as a starter, he threw for 2,141 yards, 15 passing touchdowns and one rushing score in 10 games, including the postseason, where the Golden Hawks ultimately lost to the Western Mustangs in an OUA semi-final.<\/p>\n
The following year, Elgersma stepped things up. In 11 games, he exploded for 3,482 yards in the air, 25 passing touchdowns, and eight rushing scores, a huge improvement from his first season as a starter. This time, Laurier made it to the Yates Cup \u2013 although they once again were bested by the Mustangs.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Taylor-Elgersma-profile-2-1024x683.jpg\")
(Photo: Winnipeg Blue Bombers).<\/p>\n
And then Elgersma put them over the top. Not only did the Hawks best Western (51-31 in the Yates), they had a perfect OUA season, going 8-0 during the regular campaign and winning out in the postseason, eventually reaching the Vanier Cup against the Laval Rouge et Or, where they came up just short, 22\u201317.<\/p>\n
Along the way, Elgersma produced 4,011 yards, 34 passing touchdowns, and six rushing scores in 12 games. He was named the Larry Haylor Award winner as OUA football MVP;\u00a0he won the Hec Creighton Award as U Sports\u2019 top football player; and he was named top male athlete in all of U Sports.<\/p>\n
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Following the conclusion of the 2024 season, in which Elgersma delivered one of the greatest quarterback stretches U Sports has ever seen, he was invited to compete in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, an NCAA game for the top senior players in the United States. He was the only player to represent a Canadian school, and the first since 1992, when former Western Mustang receiver Tyrone Williams competed in the showcase game.<\/p>\n
Elgersma did well, and received some recognition, but it wasn\u2019t enough to hear his name called during the NFL draft, where he had been projected as a possible late-round pick. In Canada, though, he was drafted by the CFL\u2019s Blue Bombers, 18th overall, which gave the team his rights as he pursued a career south of the border.<\/p>\n
In the spring of 2025, following a successful rookie minicamp with the Green Bay Packers, Elgersma signed with the team and later played in three preseason games, completing 16 of 23 passes for 166 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. Unfortunately, he was later released as part of the Packers\u2019 final cuts following training camp and preseason.<\/p>\n
Even though he didn\u2019t make the team, Elgersma still made history by becoming only the fourth Canadian university quarterback to sign a contract in the NFL \u2013 and the first in almost 40 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Taylor-Elgersma-profile-3-1024x576.jpg\")
(Photo: Winnipeg Blue Bombers).<\/p>\n
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As the door with the Packers closed, many others opened. He worked out with several other NFL teams, spent some time helping his alma mater as they pursued another OUA championship, and earlier this year was approached by the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL, which gave him another chance to play pro in the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Green Bay and all the workouts, I got a call from Birmingham, who said they were selecting me in the UFL draft,\u201d the quarterback said.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, things didn\u2019t go as smoothly as Elgersma had hoped, as he had significant issues with his visa status.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was a unique situation, because we were playing a season and I was hoping to be playing and taking snaps, and the visa situation was holding that up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Stallions head coach A.J. McCarron tried repeatedly to get the visa situation sorted, but the U.S. federal government shut down twice early in 2026, which made the process nearly impossible for Elgersma. By mid-April, the season was four weeks in, and he couldn\u2019t play in games or be compensated, so Elgersma headed back home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew that I had a great opportunity here in Winnipeg to go to, so I was super excited about that,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is an outstanding organization, so obviously I was excited to get over here and get to work with these guys.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Winnipeg\u2019s rookie camp started on May 6, and Elgersma wanted to be ready in time for the season, so signing when he did was crucial.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Taylor-Elgersma-profile-4-1024x683.jpg\")
(Photo: Winnipeg Blue Bombers).<\/p>\n
Since joining the Blue Bombers, Elgersma has been able to learn from starting quarterback Zach Collaros, who is a two-time winner of the Most Outstanding Player award and is regarded as one of the franchise\u2019s best players of all time, having won back-to-back Grey Cups with the team in 2019 and 2021 (the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing how Zach prepares has been awesome,\u201d said Elgersma \u201cWatching how quickly he works through his progressions, times his feet up with his eyes. As a young quarterback, that\u2019s something that takes reps to do, but when you have a guy that does it every single day, it shortens that as you try and emulate it yourself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although he\u2019s yet to touch the field during regular-season action, he appeared in two pre-season games, completing 17 of 33 pass attempts. He didn\u2019t throw for a touchdown and had two interceptions, but he had a rushing touchdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a step up, but that\u2019s what you expect when you come to this level,\u201d the quarterback said. \u201cThat\u2019s what you\u2019re excited about as an athlete and a player, that you get to make that jump and challenge yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Elgersma has been spending a lot of time in meetings, training and even more meetings as he works to elevate his game to become a starter one day in the league. He also likes to stay later after some other players have left to keep learning schemes and how to get better.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty regimented, it prepares us well,\u201d Elgersma said about non-gamedays.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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